Artist: salary in the UK
ONS occupation: Artists (SOC 3411)
About £32,836 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, -14.8% on last year
£3,393 a month About £2,736 a month after tax
Gross pay before tax, including bonuses, commission and overtime. Not included: benefits in kind such as a company car. About the data
Pay range
The dark part is the middle half of full-time employees (25% to 75%); the light bar runs from 10% to 90%. ONS doesn't publish the highest or lowest salary, and x means a figure wasn't published.
Pay by year
The median went from £30,756 in 2023 to £40,718 in 2026 (+32%); for all full-time employees in the UK it changed by +17% over the same years.
Figures by year
| P10 | P25 | Median | P75 | P90 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | x | x | x | x | x |
| 2022 | x | x | x | x | x |
| 2023 | x | x | £30,756 | x | x |
| 2024 | x | x | £38,204 | x | x |
| 2025 | x | x | £47,793 | x | x |
| 2026 | x | x | £40,718 | x | x |
ONS figures for each year, not adjusted for inflation. Years before 2021 used a different occupation classification, so they can't be compared. Earlier years are ONS's revised figures; the latest is provisional.
Half of full-time employees in this occupation earn less than £40,718 a year and half earn more. That is about the same as the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
Ranked by median, it is number 146 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £2,736 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £2,730 in Scotland.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | x | x |
| 20th | x | x |
| 25th (P25) | x | x |
| 30th | £28,877 | £2,406 |
| 40th | £34,154 | £2,846 |
| Median (50th) | £40,718 | £3,393 |
| 60th | £45,139 | £3,762 |
| 70th | x | x |
| 75th (P75) | x | x |
| 80th | x | x |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £32,836 | £2,736 |
| Scotland | £32,764 | £2,730 |
After Income Tax and National Insurance for 2026 to 2027, with the standard tax code and no pension or student loan. Work out your own take-home pay · Take-home pay on £41,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 43 job titles to SOC 3411 Artists. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Animator
- Architectural illustrator
- Art restorer
- Art technician
- Artist
- Artist-designer
- Artist-illustrator
- Artistic modeller
- Artistic painter
- Black and white etcher
- Book illustrator
- Calligrapher
- Cartoonist
- Chief illustrator
- Copy colourist
- Fashion artist
- Fashion artist and designer
- Fashion illustrator
- Fine artist
- Graphic illustrator
- Henna artist
- Henna tattoo artist
- Illustrator
- Landscape painter
- Leading illustrator
- Marine painter
- Medical artist
- Medical illustrator
- Miniature painter
- Picture cleaner
- Picture restorer
- Portrait engraver
- Portrait painter
- Press artist
- Scenic artist
- Sculptor
- Sculptor's assistant
- Senior illustrator
- Tattoo artist
- Tattooist
- Textile artist
- Visual artist
- Water colour painter
Similar occupations
All jobs in Associate professional occupations
Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2026 provisional, Table 14.7a (full-time employees, gross annual pay, UK, tax year ending 5 April 2026). Provisional figures may be revised.